Selection guide

Create the Initial RFPs

Some companies send out long RFPs with qualitative rather than quantitative questions to an extensive list of vendors. There are two problems with this approach.

Lengthy RFPs are time-consuming for both you and vendors. All of your effort will be for naught if you do not get an equally detailed responses. But many companies simply will not take the time to respond. Those vendors that do fill out such RFPs are often desperate for business or will charge hefty prices to make up for such time expenditures.

Asking such general questions omits critical data, such as specific time-lines, functionality, and limitations.

The solution is first send out a mini-RFP, which most vendors will complete. Figure out exactly what you want and take the time to describe it in detail. This document should ask your top 10 questions, be available in document and online format, and take 20 minutes or less to complete. Although the exact questions would depend on your needs, they should include:

Can you implement all of the business processes that are described?

How much will it cost over the next couple of years? (The vendor may need clarification before providing firm prices, but should be able to provide a rough estimate here.)

How long and how many consulting hours will it take to implement?

Can you try the system before committing to a purchase?

What kind of expertise is needed to maintain/change the system?

You can eliminate Contract Management vendors that do not respond in a reasonable amount of time and based on the responses you receive from the remainder, narrow down the vendor list to three to five. Tell these companies that they have made the short list and send them complete follow-up RFPs. Since these vendors will know that they have about a 25% shot of earning your business, they will likely respond.

Make sure that the questions in this follow-up RFP are probing and quantitative. For example, instead of just stating, «The system must allow the creation of custom tables, » ask quantitative questions such as the example below. As you will see, the exact answers can make a huge difference in terms of timing and cost.

How long does it take to create a custom table and what expertise is required to do so?
The truth is that creating a fully functional custom table can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few months. If the latter is the case, this can cost tens of thousands of dollars in consulting fees. Unless you ask explicit questions, the vendor will not provide such details.

Do custom tables behave exactly like native tables?
Probe even deeper with questions such as: Can you create links between custom tables and native tables? Can you search and create reports and business rules on fields in custom tables?

Can custom tables pose any obstacles to system upgrades?
The additional effort involved in upgrading a system with custom tables can range from «no impact» to exporting and re-importing all data, redoing the entire custom table from scratch, and praying that nothing goes wrong.

If you are unsure which questions to ask to compare Contract Management software systems, contact the vendors. Say to them: «I am pleased that you support feature X. What should I ask your competitors? I am trying to determine how fully the vendors that I am considering support this feature and whether there are any limitations or additional costs associated with its implementation. » What they tell you will expose weaknesses among their competitors and, possibly, themselves.